Battery Fire at NY Solar Farm Triggers Shelter-in-Place Order: Fire Chief Says '5 or 7 Days' to Extinguish
A fire caused by lithium-ion batteries at a northern New York state solar farm triggered a shelter-in-place order Thursday.
Although the order has since been lifted, one fire official said the solar farm fire will burn for days.
Trooper Jack L. Keller of the New York State Police said four lithium-ion battery storage trailers caught fire, according to the Watertown Daily Times.
The solar farm is located just outside of the village of Chaumont in the Jefferson County town of Lyme.
NY Solar Farm Fire Sends Potentially Harmful Smoke into Airhttps://t.co/WqgrGtfSMp
— Fire Engineering (@fireengineering) July 28, 2023
Chaumont Fire Chief William Lipczynski said firefighters would “contain the fire from spreading to anywhere else rather than putting the fire out because the type of fire that it is, batteries, you can’t really put the batteries out,” according to WWNY-TV.
“The batteries themself will burn out. It will probably take five or seven days. It will be at a safe level where we don’t have to worry about a big fire again or a big event,” he said.
The fire broke out at about 1 p.m. on Thursday at a solar farm owned by Convergent Energy.
For several hours, residents within one mile of the solar farm were told to shelter in place.
Joe Plummer, director of Jefferson County Fire and Emergency Management, said the order was lifted because, although batteries are still burning, readings have shown no toxic fumes spreading into the air.
Fire crews battling a battery fire at a solar farm in Jefferson County tonight. @GovKathyHochul says the fire has caused significant damage and is emitting large amounts of smoke that may pose health risks.
“I urge all members of the local community to follow public health… pic.twitter.com/K3e04ei0Zf
— Casey Bortnick (@CaseyJBortnick) July 28, 2023
According to The Messenger, the cause of the fire is under investigation.
Gov. Kathy Hochul said state resources were sent to assist, according to WWNY.
“A large battery fire in Jefferson County has caused significant damage and is emitting large amounts of smoke that may pose health risks. I have directed all necessary State agencies to provide assistance to local and county officials and have deployed State personnel from the Department of Environmental Conservation and the Office of Fire Prevention and Control to the site,” she said.
“I urge all members of the local community to follow public health guidance to protect themselves and their families and avoid exposure to smoke or other toxins. We will continue monitoring developments out of Jefferson County and are committed to helping this community address the ongoing situation,” she said.
Aerial photo
First of a kind that our emergency services are aware. The battery system of a solar farm is on fire. It could go for days until it burns itself out. Special equipment from Syracuse and Oswego coming in to measure air quality and they are asking people within a mile… pic.twitter.com/3VpxZpNsIb
— Assemblyman Scott Gray (@AndrewgrayS) July 27, 2023
As lithium-ion batteries have become more popular, the dangers from them have grown, according to New York City Fire Commissioner Laura Kavanagh, who testified on Thursday before the Consumer Product Safety Commission in Washington about the batteries, according to WABC-TV.
“The number of fire incidents has rapidly increased. Other cities across the country have begun seeing these issues as well, and municipalities that are not yet experiencing this phenomenon may be facing similar incidents in the future,” Kavanagh said.
“We have reached a point of crisis in New York City, with ion batteries now a top cause of fatal fires in New York,” she said.
The Tampa Bay Times noted that David Dittman, Tampa Fire Rescue training chief, said that when the batteries catch fire it can be “very difficult to control or extinguish.”
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